Crimson Contention
by fluffmania207
Summary: Jane's disappeared, and it appears that even your biggest fans could become your worst enemies in seconds - if you don't know what you're doing...
1. Chapter 1

Crimson Contention

**A/N: Contention – rivalry, competition.  
Just thought I would include the definition of contention, seeing as I didn't really know it myself. I will bid you adieu, and ask you to enjoy.**

Chapter 1

Sophia Evans frowned and ran her fingers lightly through her auburn hair. She turned to her tall blonde sister, Maria, and glanced at her watch. "He should have been here an hour ago," she whispered, glancing around the crowded restaurant.

"He may just be late," countered Maria.

"He's never late," hissed Sophia, gripping her fork.

"Work could have held him up," said Maria, picking up her glass and examining the rim.

"He's ruining the plan," said Sophia with a scowl.

She sat back in her chair and crossed her arms stubbornly and frowned in frustration. Their plan would be ruined if he didn't arrive soon, and both sisters knew it. They were on a tight schedule, and him arriving this late would throw their careful planning to the wind.

The two sisters sat in a busy restaurant in downtown Sacramento, waiting for someone to arrive. It was early evening, and the restaurant was fairly busy. Maria glanced at the door again, and nudged her sister. "Sophia," she hissed.

Sophia glanced up and grinned widely. The man they had been waiting for had arrived. They surreptitiously watched him as he took a seat in the back corner and ordered wine for himself. It was fascinating for the two women, a year apart in age, to watch the handsome man in the corner. He sat alone casually sipping his wine and observing the people in the room. Sophia took the time to admire the man in the corner as he sat unaccompanied. His cobalt blue eyes roamed the room periodically, and his blonde hair stood up in soft curls about his head. He was wearing a navy three piece suit and seemed content to just drink wine and watch the people coming and going from the restaurant. Maria nudged Sophia, bringing her out of her awed gazing. "We should go," said Maria, standing up. Sophia joined her after one last, fleeting look, and they started to leave the restaurant.

XxxxxxxxxxxX

Patrick Jane sat in the corner of the restaurant. He was following his usual Thursday tradition of going to his favourite restaurant and drinking a glass of wine while "people watching". He watched two women, one tall and blonde, the other short with red hair, abruptly leave. He noted that, although they were trying to appear casual, the shorter woman looked around nervously every few seconds, as though she were afraid she was being watched. Her behaviour had him wondering why she appeared so paranoid. He had briefly noticed her and her companion when they were sitting, but didn't pay much attention to them. They were just two ladies – sisters, judging by their identical eye colour – out for a drink together. They were leaving now, but something seemed off. The blonde woman seemed calm enough, but looks could be deceiving. He knew that well enough. The red-haired woman's actions interested him. She ran her fingers nervously through her hair, and fidgeted with her fingers. He sat back in interest as her brown eyes darted around the room for one last time before meeting his across the room. She stumbled as their eyes met – tripping over her own feet – and grabbed her companion's arm for support. Her companion glanced down at her, and hissed something under her breath. The two women hurriedly left the room, and Jane sat wondering what he had just witnessed.

XxxxxxxxxxxX

Jane walked briskly across the parking lot, pulling his keys from his pocket. He had enjoyed watching the people in the restaurant, and this made him almost reminiscent of his pre-CBI days as a fake psychic. He glanced around the lot before attempting to insert the key into the lock of his blue Citroёn. It was a beautiful spring evening, and the air was warm against his face. He was mindlessly whistling when something suddenly felt off. A sound behind him caused him to turn, but he only got halfway through the motion before something heavy struck the back of his head. His keys dropped to the floor, and he fell beside them, barely conscious. The last thing he felt before the darkness overtook him was two pairs of hands dragging him away from his car.

XxxxxxxxxxxX

Senior Agent Teresa Lisbon walked into the bullpen on Monday morning. "We caught a case," she said to her team. "Missing person."

Van Pelt glanced towards the empty couch. "Shouldn't call Jane?" she asked curiously.

Lisbon face pulled tight, and her lips pressed together into a hard line. "It is Jane," she said, her voice clipped and cold.

The team all looked at each other in shock, before rising at the same time from their desks. They all piled into the elevator as Lisbon took a nervous swig of her coffee. After a moment, she followed.

XxxxxxxxxxxX

The CBI SUV pulled up into the restaurant parking lot. Agent Kimball Cho cut the engine and got out. Lisbon strode over to the blue car and spoke to the manager standing next to it. "Have you seen this man recently?" she asked, handing the man a photo of Jane.

The manager nodded. "Comes here every Thursday. Only ever orders wine. He was here last Thursday, and left at around ten o'clock. That's the last I saw of him."

Lisbon nodded and turned to the blue car. "How long has this been here?"

"Since Thursday. We found it Friday morning, but didn't have it towed."

Lisbon nodded and turned back to her team. She knew that Jane was out there, but she didn't know where to look.

**A/N: I hope you've enjoyed this first chapter, and I hope to be posting again soon. Please review. Thank you.**


	2. Chapter 2

Crimson Contention

**A/N: I apologise for my fail at writing the previous chapter two. I admit that it was late, and my idea didn't translate too well onto paper. However, I have now revised this chapter, and I hope my second attempt is better. So, I present my revised Chapter Two.**

Chapter two (Revised)

"Mr Jane. Mr Jane. Mr Jane, wake up." A distant voice called him back to consciousness.

Jane groaned and moved his head. An unfamiliar hand against his face caused his eyes to snap open. He focussed onto a pair of light brown eyes framed by long lashes leaning over him not far from his face. He tried to move his right hand, but found that it was tied down. "Where am I?" he asked, his voice croaky.

The woman in front of him stepped back, and Jane could see that it was the blonde woman he had seen leave the restaurant… how long had it been? Jane didn't know how long he had been unconscious. "You're in good hands, Mr Jane." She said, reaching forward to caress his hair.

Jane glanced down at himself and the surface he was lying on. He was lying on a four-poster bed in a sparsely decorated room. The sheets smelled of moth-balls and dust. His right hand was tied to the post next to him, but his left one was free. He ran his hand through his curls, and assessed that he had a nasty lump on the back of his head. Aside from that, nothing seemed to be wrong. He glanced at the woman, who seemed in awe as she stared at him. "What day is it?" asked Jane, glancing up at the woman.

"It's Monday," she replied. "I'm sorry that Sophia hit you so hard. She doesn't know her own strength, and didn't mean to knock you out for so long."

Jane read the genuine concern in the woman's eyes, and attempted to sit up. The woman put her hand on the back of Jane's arm and pulled him upright, leaving her hand on his arm for slightly longer than necessary. She trailed her fingers up his arm, and Jane shuddered slightly. "What's your name?" he asked casually.

"My name is Maria," the woman replied, brushing some of Jane's hair away from his face. Jane reached up and grabbed her hand lightly. He pulled it away from his hair. Maria's eyes widened at the casual gesture. "I'll go fetch Sophia," she said, a little breathless.

Maria stood up and left the room, leaving Jane to assess the situation he was in. He was tied to a bed in a room with one large window and very little other furniture. It was three days after his visit to the restaurant, and Jane suspected that these women had been waiting for him to leave. He remembered watching the women leave, and realised Sophia – he guessed it had to be her – must have stumbled because she had been seen by Jane.

Just then, the two women returned. Sophia was considerably shorter than Maria, with dark red hair and eyes the same shade as her sister's. She looked Jane over appreciatively and muttered something to her sister. Jane watched her cautiously as she stepped up to the bed and ran her fingers carefully through his hair. 'What is it with these women and my hair?' thought Jane with some disdain as Sophia's fingers caressed the hair at the nape of his neck.

Her fingers brushed the lump from where she hit him, and he winced. "Maria," said Sophia. "Go and get some ice for Mr Jane."

Maria gave one last, wistful glance at her sister before hurrying from the room. Sophia turned back to Jane. "How do you know who I am?" asked Jane warily.

Sophia shook her head. "All in good time, Mr Jane."

Jane sighed. "Can I at least get something to eat?"

Sophia nodded and disappeared. Maria passed her at the door and headed over to the bed. She gingerly pressed the icepack to Jane's head, and he winced. "I'm sorry, Mr Jane," she mumbled.

"Please," he said, taking the icepack from her. "Call me Patrick."

"Yes, Patrick," said Maria.

Sophia returned carrying a tray. Jane could see that it contained a bowl and a spoon, as well as a glass of water. Jane handed the icepack back to Maria and took the tray gratefully. "Thank you, Sophia," he said, looking the shorter woman in the eye.

The bowl contained soup, and Jane wolfed it down, not realising how hungry he was until he started eating. Maria turned to Sophia. "Let's give Patrick some privacy. I'm sure he's still exhausted."

Sophia nodded, and the sisters left together. Jane finished his food and placed the tray onto the floor. He lay back on the bed and studied the dull grey material suspended above him. His eyelids began to droop, and his brain felt fuzzy. His eyes closed, and he dropped off to sleep gain. His last coherent thought was of Lisbon, and how worried she must be.

XxxxxxxxxxxX

Lisbon sat at her desk, head in hands. They had no leads on Jane's whereabouts, and that was beginning to worry her. The restaurant had provided their internal surveillance from that Thursday night, and she was busy scanning through the footage. She watched Jane enter, and saw where he was sitting. She saw something of interest and leant in closer. The footage showed two women leaving the restaurant, and one of them looked back. Lisbon watched the woman stumble, and wondered why. She paused the footage and walked to her door. "Van Pelt," she called.

Grace Van Pelt walked up to her boss. "Yes, Boss?"

"Can you get me a blueprint of the restaurant Jane was in, complete with camera positions?"

Van Pelt nodded and disappeared to her desk. Fifteen minutes later, the blueprint appeared on Lisbon's desk. She plotted the trajectories of the camera, and, with Van Pelt's help, translated the direction of the woman's glance onto the blueprint. It was directed at the back corner. Lisbon gasped when they looked at the footage from a different camera. "Jane was sitting there," she said, pointing to the screen.

Van Pelt ran the faces of the two women through facial recognition to see if they could get any hits. Lisbon left the office for some much needed coffee. She returned with two cups, and held one out to Van Pelt.

"We got a match, Boss," said Van Pelt, taking the coffee.

She pulled the information up onto the screen. "Maria Evans," read Lisbon. "Age twenty-nine. No priors. The other one?"

Van Pelt pulled up her information next. "Sophia Evans. Age twenty-eight. One prior for assault."

Lisbon picked up her badge and gun. "Get Rigsby and Cho. We're going to find out if they know anything."

**A/N2: I'm personally much happier with this attempt (maybe the fact that it's not midnight has something to do with it), and I hope you enjoy this one better than the last one I did. Please review, and tell me what you think. Thanks.**


	3. Chapter 3

Crimson Contention

**A/N: Thanks to the people who took the time to review my revised chapter. Your input is much appreciated. Now, onwards to chapter three…**

Chapter three

Sophia was in the kitchen when the knock on the door was heard. Maria was tending to Jane, who had just woken up after eating the drugged soup. Sophia sighed and walked to the front door. She pulled it open, slightly irritated. A petite woman with dark hair and green eyes stood on the other side. She was flanked by two men, one of Asian descent, the other tall with dark hair. "Hi," said the woman. "My name is Agent Lisbon." She indicated to the two men with her. "This is Agent Cho, and Agent Rigsby. We're with the CBI. We have some questions concerning the disappearance of one of our colleagues last Thursday."

Sophia fought to control her panic. Jane was a restless sleeper, even drugged, and had muttered the name 'Lisbon' more than once. She waved the agents through the front door and into the living room. "I'll just go and fetch my sister," said Sophia, practically running from the room.

Maria was sitting on the edge of the bed when Sophia appeared. "Maria," said Sophia, her voice panicked. "We have a problem."

Maria shot to her feet, startled, and Jane groaned. He tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids were too heavy. "What is it, Sophia?"

Sophia glanced towards the door. "They're looking for him." She pointed to Jane, lying prone on the bed.

Maria sucked in a breath. "Who?"

Sophia lowered her voice. "The CBI, that 'Lisbon' person he keeps calling for, they're here about his disappearance. I think they suspect us."

Maria glanced down at Jane, her eyes wide. "What do we do?" she asked.

Sophia narrowed her eyes. "We lie. They can't have much if they're coming to us. They must just be interviewing everyone who was at the restaurant. Come, they're waiting."

Maria nodded and followed her sister from the room. Jane's eyes snapped open, but shut quickly again. Lisbon. Lisbon was here, looking for him. He couldn't get to her, but he would find a way. Unfortunately, he was still tied to the bed. He knew what he needed to do, and the thought had him carefully planning his next moves.

XxxxxxxxxxxX

Lisbon made herself comfortable on the couch, while Rigsby sat next to her. Cho stood stoically by the window, arms folded. Sophia breezed back into the room, her sister trailing behind her. Maria stared at the two male agents, before turning her attention to the woman. Lisbon motioned for her to sit, and Maria quietly obliged. Sophia disappeared through to the kitchen to put the kettle on, leaving Maria at the mercy of the agents before her. The fact that all three of them were staring at her made her very nervous, especially the stare coming from the Asian man at the window. Maria could tell that he was an expert at interrogation, and the thought of him interrogating her scared her a little. The woman, Lisbon, caught her attention by pulling a picture from a file she was carrying and placing it on the tiny coffee table between them. It was a picture of her and Sophia leaving the restaurant. "Maria," said Lisbon. "We know that you were at the restaurant last Thursday. Did you see this man there?" she placed a photograph of Jane in front of her.

Maria shook her head. "I didn't see this man. In fact, I've never seen this man in my life before."

Lisbon nodded, and turned to Sophia, who had just returned from the kitchen. "Sophia," she said. "Have you seen this man before?"

Sophia looked at the photos. Obviously, the sisters had been at the restaurant – she couldn't lie about that – so she slowly nodded her head. "I saw him briefly as we were leaving, but I haven't seen him since."

Lisbon sighed and took the photos off of the coffee table. She slid them back into her file. "Mr Jane is a huge asset to the CBI, and it's a shame he's missing." She said, standing up. Her two agents followed her from the room to the front door. Lisbon turned to Sophia, who was following close behind them, and handed her a business card. "Call us if you remember anything."

Sophia took the card and nodded. "We will."

XxxxxxxxxxxX

Lisbon and her team left, and the sisters breathed a sigh of relief. The black SUV drove away, and Sophia shut the door. "That was close, Maria," she said, turning to her sister.

Maria pulled her blonde hair away from her face and headed back into the depths of the house. She walked into the room where Jane was and found him sitting up, his eyes slightly unfocussed. She went quickly to his side and ran her fingers gently over his forehead. "Patrick," she whispered.

Sophia watched the show from where she stood at the doorway and rolled her eyes. "Leave him be, Maria."

Jane attempted to focus his eyes on Maria's face, and raised his hand to his eyes. "I'm thirsty," he croaked, before attempting to clear his throat.

Maria quickly poured him a glass of water and handed it to him. He sipped it, and gave the glass back to her. "Thank you, my dear," he said, his voice a little stronger.

Sophia huffed and turned away. "I'm off to buy groceries," she announced to no-one in particular.

She stalked away, and soon Jane heard the sound of her car start.

Jane turned his attention back to the blonde next to him. "Why am I here, Maria?" he asked, pushing his hair back off of his face.

Maria glanced away. "Sophia doesn't want me to tell you," she mumbled.

Jane tilted his head. "She's younger than you, yet she practically controls you. Why?"

Maria looked up at him, her features defiant. "She's always had a strong personality."

Jane shook his head. "There's a difference between strong personality and control freak."

Maria sighed, gripping her hands in her lap. "You're here because we used to watch your show when we were kids."

Jane frowned in confusion. "I don't follow."

"Well, we were huge fans," explained Maria, unclasping her hands. "Sophia actually believed you were psychic. Then your shows were cancelled. The newspapers told the world why, and we figured out pretty quickly that you weren't coming back. Sophia missed your shows, and I guess I did too. She had fallen in love with you, to an extent, and almost cried when she saw you walk into that restaurant. You may not have been psychic, as she had initially believed, but she had given up hope of ever seeing you again. That was three months ago."

Jane raised an eyebrow. "Why was I kidnapped?"

Maria blushed, and wrung her hands in her lap. "I guess we just wanted you for ourselves. It had been so long since we'd seen you, we just, didn't want to lose you again." Her voice came in a rush. "It was a joint decision, and I don't pretend to put all of the blame onto her…"

A movement at the door caught their attention. "Maria," growled Sophia furiously. She stalked towards her sister, who had risen from the bed.

Maria backed away from her advancing sister as Sophia scowled. Jane sat helplessly on the edge of the bed as Maria was backed into the wall. Sophia closed the rest of the gap and raised her arm up to strike Maria. The whimper at the back of Maria's throat brought out Jane's innate need to protect the vulnerable. "Stop!" he yelled, lurching forward off of the bed. The rope around his wrist caught him, jerking him to his knees.

Sophia paused, her hand raised. Maria cowered against the wall, too terrified to react. "Hit me," pleaded Jane from his knees. "She doesn't deserve to be hit. It was my fault. Take your anger out on me."

Sophia stepped away from her cowering sister. She advanced on Jane and pulled him to his feet. Despite her size, she was deceptively strong. Jane rose to his feet, but his arm was pulled at an awkward angle behind him. Sophia turned away from him. "You don't need to take the blame for her weakness, Patrick," he voice had an air of disgust to it. "She can't help it."

Sophia left the room in disgust, but Maria didn't move. Jane glanced at her. "Are you okay?" he asked, his voice concerned. He had the feeling that this was a regular occurrence between the volatile sisters.

Maria turned to face him. Unshed tears made her eyes shine, and she stumbled over to him. He gently wrapped his arms around her as best he could – seeing as his right arm was still tied to the bed – and held her as she began to cry.

"It's okay, Maria," he whispered.

She clung to his jacket and sobbed into his shoulder. He awkwardly patted her back and she continued to cry. "She is always so unfair to me," gasped Maria a little while later.

Jane pulled her back to the bed and sat down. She sat next to him. "It's okay, Maria," he said softly, taking her hand.

Maria smiled up at him. "Thank you for saving me there."

Jane smiled back. "You're more than welcome. Nobody deserves to be treated like that."

Maria gave him a tight hug. "Thank you."

Jane gently removed himself from her grasp. "May I ask a favour?"

"Anything," replied Maria, her eyes wide.

Jane pulled on his right arm. "Please untie this rope."

XxxxxxxxxxxX

Lisbon sat at her desk. Two days had passed since their last lead had run cold. She was getting nowhere, and that was frustrating her no end. Somehow, she was meant to find her consultant – assuming he was even still alive – without any leads to work with. Everybody at the restaurant had been questioned, but nothing out of the ordinary was discovered. The only people who stuck out in her mind were the two sisters, Maria and Sophia Evans. Something had seemed off about them, but Lisbon couldn't put her finger on what it was. She held her head in her hands and felt hopelessness creeping over her. She needed to find Jane, and soon.

XxxxxxxxxxxX

Jane had spent the better part of two days trying to gain the trust of the two sisters. Maria trusted him, no doubt, but Sophia was proving difficult. He wasn't tied to the bed anymore, showing that at least some level of trust had been established between him and Sophia. But it was tentative at best. She still wouldn't leave him alone for too long, and would make sure that one of them would stay at home when they needed to go out.

Two more days passed, and Jane knew that Lisbon must have been worried to insomnia about him, but this process just couldn't be rushed. Get it wrong, and he'd be back to square one, with no hope of ever gaining their trust again. Slowly, however, Sophia seemed to be coming around. She left him alone for longer periods of time, and, two weeks after he woke up in a strange bed, risked leaving him alone while they went out shopping.

Jane jumped at the opportunity to do some snooping. He rifled through their belongings, and made a discovery that brought him hope. He found his cell phone stashed in the drawer next to Sophia's bed. He picked it up and shut the drawer. The sound of a car pulling into the driveway caused him to bolt down the stairs and into his room. He shoved the phone under his mattress and hurried to the kitchen. The two sisters entered, smiling happily in his direction. Jane felt happier than he had all week, knowing that he finally had a way out.

**A/N2: This is a long chapter, but I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have. Please review and tell me what you think. Thanks.**


	4. Chapter 4

Crimson Contention

**A/N: Thank you for your positive reviews on my last chapter. This next chapter will be the last one for this story. Enjoy…**

Chapter four

Jane lay awake on his bed. It was the day after he had found his cell phone, and he was waiting for the perfect opportunity to call for help. It was now just after midnight, and he had made up his mind. He stood up and pulled out his cell phone. He glanced around once before pressing speed dial one.

XxxxxxxxxxxX

Lisbon sat on the edge of her bed. She hadn't slept very well since Jane's disappearance, and the exhaustion was taking its toll. So, when her phone rang, Lisbon nearly jumped out of her skin. "Lisbon," she answered automatically.

"Lisbon," an excited whisper could be heard on the other end of the line.

"Oh my word," yelled Lisbon, standing up. "Jane!"

Jane smiled to himself. "I'm alright, Lisbon, just getting bored."

Lisbon got down to business immediately. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Jane chuckled. "Yes, but you need to come and get me."

Lisbon frowned. "Where are you?"

Jane paused for a second. "Sophia and Maria," he whispered quickly.

Lisbon's pulse quickened. "I knew there was something wrong with them…" her voice trailed off when a woman's voice could be heard in the background. Lisbon strained to listen, but could only just make out a few of the words.

An ear-splitting bang came through the speaker, and then the line went dead. Lisbon's blood ran cold. She dialled Cho's number. "Get Rigsby," she ordered. "Meet me at Maria and Sophia Evans' house. Jane's in trouble."

XxxxxxxxxxxX

Jane knelt on the floor, clutching his face. Sophia was clearly a light sleeper; she had heard him talking and had come down to investigate the voice. When she had seen him on the phone, she had freaked out completely. Sophia had snatched the phone from him and thrown it against the wall as hard as she could, before turning and slapping Jane across the face. Jane had dropped to the floor in agony, seeing stars. "Who did you call?" yelled Sophia, standing menacingly over him.

Jane said nothing, still too dazed to speak. Maria appeared at the door. "What's going on?" she asked, before seeing Jane on his knees. She rushed to his side, before glaring angrily up at her sister. "What did you do?"

Sophia dragged Maria to her feet by the back of her shirt. "He was phoning for help," said Sophia, looking down at him in fury. Her voice was bitter.

Maria pulled herself out of Sophia's grasp. "Well, Sophia," she said, putting her hands on her hips. "Do you blame him? After all, we did kidnap him."

Sophia saw red, and launched herself at her sister. Jane stumbled to his feet and – uncharacteristically, seeing his aversion to violence – jumped into the middle of the brawl. He attempted to pull Sophia away from Maria, but the tiny redhead was just too strong. She had Maria by the throat, and Maria was clawing desperately at her sister's hands. Jane had his arms around Sophia from behind, but couldn't control the tiny woman. Maria then changed tactic, and gripped a fistful of her sister's hair. She yanked hard, and Sophia squealed.

XxxxxxxxxxxX

Lisbon, Rigsby and Cho met at the front door of the house. They were just about to enter when a loud shriek erupted from inside. Lisbon turned to her two agents and nodded once. Cho kicked the front door in and the three agents entered. They followed the sounds of a mad struggle, and entered a back bedroom just in time to watch Jane get floored by an elbow to the gut. Rigsby and Cho quickly descended onto the two women and wrenched them apart. Lisbon rushed to Jane's side. "What happened?" she asked, helping him sit up.

Jane glanced at her. "Sophia attacked Maria."

Lisbon frowned. "Why?"

Jane ignored her and stared at Sophia. She was struggling against Cho's iron grasp on her upper arms, still trying to get to her sister. Maria stood placidly several feet away, not even bothering to struggle against Rigsby's hands. Jane stood up, giving Sophia a wide berth, and walked over to Rigsby. "She's innocent," he said, indicating that Rigsby release Maria.

Rigsby obediently dropped his arms and stepped back. Jane pulled the stunned Maria off to the side. "We'll get her the best professional help," he said, inclining his head towards Sophia. "She won't hurt you again." His eyes dropped to her neck, which was bright red. A long, thin scratch across her cheekbone was oozing blood down her cheek. Other than that, she was relatively unharmed. Jane noted that her hands trembled slightly. "You're innocent in this."

Maria nodded mutely, and Jane gave her a hug. "Thank you," she whispered, turning away from him.

Lisbon observed, curious. She walked over to Jane, and Maria backed away slowly. "Don't worry, Maria," said Lisbon. "I'm not going to touch you."

Maria nodded, and a small smile touched her lips.

XxxxxxxxxxxX

Jane and Lisbon sat in her office. It was early morning, and they had both decided to go back to the office. Maria had been taken to hospital to make sure her neck wasn't damaged internally. Sophia had been arrested and carted away, still screaming uncontrollably. Jane was sipping a cup of tea, Lisbon drank strong coffee. "Jane," said Lisbon. "Why did you request that the charges against Maria be dropped? She was just as much involved as Sophia."

Jane sat back in his chair. "Call it crazy, or Stockholm Syndrome, or intuition, but I knew that Maria was being forced into it by Sophia. Maria has a very gentle nature, and Sophia's control was too overpowering. I might have been kidnapped by both of them, but I don't want Maria to go to prison for something she didn't want to do. It wouldn't be fair considering how kind she was to me, under the circumstances."

Lisbon placed her cup onto the table. "Sophia had been checked into the nearest psychiatric ward for mental evaluation. Apparently, your betrayal of trust, and undermining of her control, has driven her to madness." She laughed dryly. "Nothing much has changed, then."

"she was incredibly unstable to start with. It was just a matter of time before she went mad." Jane paused and frowned. "I have never betrayed your trust."

Lisbon rolled her eyes. "I was referring to your constant need to ignore rules."

Jane smiled. "it's good to be back home."

Lisbon laughed and tossed her empty coffee cup at him. he ducked and laughed with her. Yes, it was definitely good to be back where he belonged.

Einde

**A/N2: This is the end of another story. I hope you've enjoyed it. For those who don't know, Stockholm Syndrome is when one begins to relate to a captor in a hostage situation, usually over a long period of time, and they become friends. Anyway, please review. Until next time,  
S.**


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